Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24with honesty and candor. But it was more than just creating safety that caught the ear of SMP. “If you do not create a safe place for young people to ask and wrestle with the big questions,” Stodd told SMP, “they will leave you and look for a place where they can.” Vitek said young people “want to express themselves around reli- gious values and feelings” regard- ing faith, nonbelief, belief, and struggle with religious practice. “They need a place to express that.” SMP’S ELEARNING COURS- ES PROVIDE THAT SAFE SPACE WHERE YOUNG PEOPLE CAN ENGAGE IN AUTHENTIC STRUG- GLE WITH THE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS OF FAITH. “It is bet- ter than having them hold it inside, not express it and then going elsewhere to seek their answers,” Vitek added. “So the eLearning courses are powerfully evange- lizing as well as catechizing.” IF YOU BRING IT, THEY WILL COME ”Mobile technology gives us a way to reach young people that we never had before,” says Vitek, who cut his teeth in reli- gious education as a parish DRE and youth minister beginning in 1982. “With mobile devices we can bring learning to them.” As a parish youth minister, Vitek said he remembers the way he would bring church to young people by driving to the local Catholic high school, where he would “hang out in the lunch room.” Digital learning provides an “effective tool we can leverage to bring church to so many young people in ways we couldn’t do without technology,” he said. An example of bringing learning to young people is in SMP’s new Confirmation eLearning program. Vitek said, “a way we can do what Pope Francis is calling for—what Jesus did—to bring the message, to bring church to the young peo- ple, rather than expecting them to come to us.” Young people are “overcommitted,” Vitek notes. Religious education competes for their time against commitments to sports, dance, work, busy family situations, etc. “Why force the choice” between the demands on their time and Confirmation preparation, he asked. “With mobile technology, with eLearn- ing, they can prepare when they are able to prepare and without diminishing the importance of still being a part of a community.” BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE How will SMP eLearning chart its course moving forward? Both through making real-time chang- es when a quick fix is called for, and also by gathering ongoing feedback from young people and teachers, Vitek said. “We invested in a powerful eLearning delivery platform, teacher- and student-centered, to leverage the strengths and power of eLearn- ing for Catholic school religion courses,” Vitek remarked. “No one else is investing in eLearning just for this purpose, but it’s our mission—to stay current and part- ner with teachers to deliver the best religion courses for young people possible today,” he said. “Our eLearning platform gives us the opportunity for making immediate improvements,” Vitek said. “If we see something right away is not working, we can change it in real time, it’s a live environment—very different from a print or e-book.” He recalled an instance where a teacher noted a web link that took students to a website “that had some con- tent that was not preferred. We went in and changed the link for the teacher within five minutes, before the students even saw it.” “We want to build in an automat- ed feedback loop for ongoing feedback” from users, both young people and teachers, Vitek said. “Which activities are generating effectiveness and which are not? CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT IS POSSIBLE AND ENHANCED” WITH ELEARNING, HE SAID. While only about 15% of Catholic high schools have moved to total digital delivery of course materials, and adoption rates for SMP’s ini- tial eLearning courses are emerg- ing, Vitek said, he sees opportuni- ty in these modest beginnings to transform the religion classroom. “WE WANT TO TRY THINGS ALONGSIDE AS A PARTNER WITH CATHOLIC SCHOOLS’ RE- LIGION TEACHERS—IT’S WHAT WE’VE ALWAYS DONE,” he said. “Having our initial eLearning courses out there creates possibil- ities of learning together. We can change and improve the courses, or tailor the courses to an individ- ual school’s needs, in a true part- nership in a way that was never possible in the print book world.” Recently Vitek met with a group of school administrators from around the country. The admin- istrators described a need for summer bridge courses to pro- vide a religious primer for Cath- olic and non-Catholic students alike, because more and more non-Catholics and subreligious- ly educated young people are enrolling in Catholic schools. SPARK // SMP.ORG/ELEARNING // 7 6 // SMP.ORG/ELEARNING // SPARK